Orthodoxy and Catholicism

This article by Léon Zander, drawn from a report presented in 1960 at the Hamburg ecumenical study days, examines the relations between the Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church from both a historical and theological perspective. The author adopts an analytical and comparative approach, structured around two axes: the "how," meaning the ecclesial sensibilities and ways of life specific to each tradition, and the "what," namely the doctrinal divergences concerning Trinitarian theology, anthropology, and ecclesiology. He shows that historical obstacles — the Crusades, Uniatism, proselytism — have durably burdened this dialogue, while structural differences, particularly regarding the Filioque, the Immaculate Conception, and papal primacy, constitute fundamental points of theological disagreement. The contribution of the article lies in its balanced contextualization of convergences and divergences, placed within the broader framework of the ecumenical problematic of the twentieth century.